Zoe's Kitchen restaurants celebrate 20 years in Birmingham

Zoe's Kitchen, which was founded by Zoe and Marcus Cassimus in 1995, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in Birmingham with a 20 Days of Goodness campaign during the month of June. (Image courtesy of Zoe's Kitchen)

Zoe's Kitchen -- which founders Marcus and Zoe Cassimus started in Homewood in 1995 - is celebrating its 20th anniversary in Birmingham with a 20 Days of Goodness campaign that includes a concert, a charity dinner, community-service projects and a city-wide scavenger hunt.

The 20 Days of Goodness celebration begins today and continues through Monday, June 29.

Zoe's Kitchen, which is now based in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas, has 142 locations in 16 states, including six in the metro Birmingham area.

The 20 Days of Goodness campaign is Zoe's Kitchen's way of reminding its employees and its customers where the Zoe's story began, Rachel Phillips-Luther, the company's vice president of marketing, told AL.com.

"Marcus and Zoe are still there in the market, and we wanted to make sure that the entire community knew how thankful we are for Birmingham not only being our birthplace, but raising us, as well," Phillips-Luther said.

"It's important to us that every team member knows that Zoe's Kitchen is named Zoe's Kitchen because there is a Zoe Cassimus, and she went out on a limb in 1995 and opened a restaurant in Birmingham, Ala."

From that original location, John Cassimus, Marcus and Zoe's son, grew the Zoe's brand to include additional restaurants in Alabama and Tennessee before he sold his majority interest in the company and eventually stepped down as its CEO.

Zoe's Kitchen moved its corporate headquarters from Birmingham to Plano in January 2013, and in March 2014, the company went public.

But Zoe's Kitchen will always consider Birmingham home, Phillips-Luther said, and that is the message the company hopes clearly comes across during the 20 Days of Goodness celebration.

"We are really taking this opportunity to educate the entire team about our history and to make sure, whether you're running a register in Philadelphia or Florida, that you understand that Zoe's Kitchen is born from a real woman," she said, "We like to say our company has a soul because her recipes are alive in our kitchens across (nearly) 150 restaurants."

Here are some of the 20 Days of Goodness events:

---> Saturday, June 13: Hummus + Hops, a family-oriented event featuring a concert by Rollin' in the Hay, Kate & the Howlers and Jessie Pitts from Season 7 of "The Voice." Other activities include a cornhole tournament, children's events, hummus from Zoe's Kitchen and craft beers from Avondale Brewing Company. Tickets are $10 and proceeds benefit The Exceptional Foundation. Hours are 2 to 6 p.m. at Avondale Brewing Company, 201 41st St. South.

---> Monday, June 29: Hidden Gift Card Hunt. Fifty envelopes containing Zoe's Kitchen gift cards ranging in value from $10 to $100 will be hidden throughout Birmingham, and clues will be available on Twitter and Instagram at #zoeslovesbham.

Over the 20 days, Zoe's Kitchen will host a number of other special events for its employees and guests. Also, Zoe's team members will volunteer their services at Children's of Alabama, Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham, and the Jimmie Hale Mission.

For a full list of all activities taking place during Zoe's Kitchen's 20 Days of Goodness celebration, go to www.zoeslovesbham.com and follow #zoeslovesbham on social media.